1) The art of branding. Nine simple practices.
2) Have an iGoogle page? Here a tip on how to use.
3) NEW TO TWITTER? Here's how #followfriday works.
4) See who's connected to whom: Twitter Friends cool visual browser.
5) How to backup your Twitter archive.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Credit Recovery Walkthrough
This interactive presentation will help you gain a better understanding of the format of the North Carolina Virtual Public School Credit Recovery program. It covers everything from registration to communication to expectations. Click on the link above to go to the website or click the play button below to begin.
Credit Recovery Characteristics
This interactive presentation will help you gain a better understanding of the characteristics of the North Carolina Virtual Public School Credit Recovery program. Click on the link above to go to the website or hit the play button below.
SUMMER 2009 Credit Recovery Information
NCVPS Credit Recovery courses will be offered during the Summer 2009 Session that runs from June 15 until August 7. The following courses will be offered:
Algebra I
Algebra II
Geometry
Physical Science
US History
Civics and Economics
English I
English II
English III
English IV
Characteristics of the NCVPS Credit Recovery Program:
The Credit Recovery program is designed for students who have recently failed the course and/or the EOC. The course is designed for the student who has failed the course and needs to repeat the course.
All Credit Recovery courses are mastery based; this means that students will pre-assess at the beginning of each unit, and this pre-assessment will help teachers to determine which assignments from that unit are required for the student to complete for mastery. A high score on the pre-assessment will allow the student to exempt most or all of the assignments of the unit. All courses are designed and taught by highly qualified, highly successful classroom teachers in North Carolina.
All assignments in the course will align with the goals of the Standard Course of Study and will prepare students for the re-taking of the EOC. Once a student masters an assignment, the student will move on to the next assignment. If a student does not master an assignment, the student will remediate the concepts and/or be given another assignment that assesses the material in a different way by his or her teacher.
Students will have weekly contact with their teacher in a synchronous environment as well as daily contact via email. Once all units of the course are mastered, NCVPS will notify the school of the student’s completion of the course and the final grade earned for the course. EOC testing will be the responsibility of the school; the school will also need to calculate the student’s final grade using the NCVPS final course grade and the EOC grade. Teachers will not distribute grades to the students but will communicate in terms of mastery and non-mastery of assignments. Each school will need to communicate final grades to students and parents for those students who master the course. For those students who do not master the course, NCVPS will designate those students as Non-Mastery in the final reporting.
Important information:
1) Summer 2009 Credit Recovery runs from June 15 until August 7. The courses are student paced, so the student can master the course early. Pacing Guides will be provided for each course. All registration must happen through the student’s school level Distance Learning Advisor.
2) In order for a student to be enrolled in a Credit Recovery course, the student must have previously failed the course; the course cannot be taken for first time credit. Local school system policy drives whether a student who has scored a Level III or higher on an EOC will retest once the course has been mastered. For EOC courses, there will be two course codes for each course – one to indicate that an EOC will be taken and the other to indicate that an EOC will not be taken. Again, local school policy will determine which course code is needed. Despite the course code the school system uses for the course, the course is the same.
3) The school needs to have a plan for supporting its Credit Recovery students during the summer session. Every week, the teacher will email the school contact (and the student and parent) a mastery chart detailing the assignments the student has mastered and not mastered. This will give the school a weekly assessment of the student’s progress. The expectation is that the school contact will be making contact with the students to discuss progress.
4) Students must have daily access to a reliable, working computer. Students also must be able and willing to devote several hours every day to working in the course in order to stay on pace.
The registration system is open for all Credit Recovery courses listed above. You will find the courses listed with CR before the title of the course. It is very important that DLAs register students for the Credit Recovery courses that have the CR before the title.
On the NCVPS website under “Courses,” DLAs will find the course codes for these courses and the course descriptions.
These same ten courses will also be offered for the Fall of 2009. For the Spring of 2010, we will offer these same ten courses AND we hope to offer Biology, Earth Science, and World History as well. The offering of these courses will depend upon course development. More information to come!
Friday, May 29, 2009
Networking, Productivity, and e-Learning
1. How to boost your creativity: "Difficult times often lead to great innovations - after all, necessity is the mother of invention."
2. Here are 5 reasons not to link Twitter to Facebook: ". . . Twitter is a serious networking tool, while Facebook is about keeping up with your friends and playing Scrabble or annoying vampire and zombie games." Use TweetDeck to control which tweets you post to Facebook.
3. 40 Beautiful Twitter Theme Backgrounds:
2. Here are 5 reasons not to link Twitter to Facebook: ". . . Twitter is a serious networking tool, while Facebook is about keeping up with your friends and playing Scrabble or annoying vampire and zombie games." Use TweetDeck to control which tweets you post to Facebook.
3. 40 Beautiful Twitter Theme Backgrounds:
4. Five Best Journaling Tools: "Public declarations and diatribes have their place, but sometimes you need a private space for your thoughts, dreams, and ramblings."
5. Twitter's uses in education: See the slideshow!
DLA E-lert May 29, 2009
DLA Survey
Please fill out our annual NCVPS survey. Log in to the DLA Spa to access the survey or contact your virtual learning consultant.
Final Grades for Early Calendar Courses Posted
Check the dropbox file in the registration system! 5 - 21 - 09
Registration Video
Early Grades for Graduating Seniors
Below is the process for collecting grades for graduating seniors. NCVPS can only accommodate this request for graduating seniors. For NCVPS Courses:Ask teachers directly for senior grades. They have been instructed to have grades prepared early for graduating seniors. They will send you two emails. In one they will send a password-protected spreadsheet with the grades. In the second, they will send the password for that spreadsheet. That's the only way we can send by email and comply with FURPA. See the DLA Spa for the teacher contact lists. (Click on the "Contacts" button in the Spa.)
For all German Courses (Oklahoma State University):
Contact Sabine Lewis at sabine.lewis@okstate.edu (800) 423-6493
For the following AP courses (Florida Virtual School): AP English LangAP English LitAP Micro Econ AP U.S. HistoryContact Maria E Chan mchan@flvs.net (407) 513-3363
Healthful Living Permission Forms
Be sure to send your permission forms to Robert Belton.
Prerequisites for NCVPS Courses
Be sure to check the prerequisites list in the DLA Spa
Please fill out our annual NCVPS survey. Log in to the DLA Spa to access the survey or contact your virtual learning consultant.
Final Grades for Early Calendar Courses Posted
Check the dropbox file in the registration system! 5 - 21 - 09
Registration Video
Early Grades for Graduating Seniors
Below is the process for collecting grades for graduating seniors. NCVPS can only accommodate this request for graduating seniors. For NCVPS Courses:Ask teachers directly for senior grades. They have been instructed to have grades prepared early for graduating seniors. They will send you two emails. In one they will send a password-protected spreadsheet with the grades. In the second, they will send the password for that spreadsheet. That's the only way we can send by email and comply with FURPA. See the DLA Spa for the teacher contact lists. (Click on the "Contacts" button in the Spa.)
For all German Courses (Oklahoma State University):
Contact Sabine Lewis at sabine.lewis@okstate.edu (800) 423-6493
For the following AP courses (Florida Virtual School): AP English LangAP English LitAP Micro Econ AP U.S. HistoryContact Maria E Chan mchan@flvs.net (407) 513-3363
Healthful Living Permission Forms
Be sure to send your permission forms to Robert Belton.
Prerequisites for NCVPS Courses
Be sure to check the prerequisites list in the DLA Spa
Thursday, May 28, 2009
DLA E-lert May 22, 2009
DLA Survey
Please fill out our annual NCVPS survey. Log in to the DLA Spa to access the survey or contact your virtual learning consultant.
Final Grades for Early Calendar Courses Posted
Check the dropbox file in the registration system! 5 - 21 - 09
Registration Video
Early Grades for Graduating Seniors
Below is the process for collecting grades for graduating seniors. NCVPS can only accommodate this request for graduating seniors. For NCVPS Courses:Ask teachers directly for senior grades. They have been instructed to have grades prepared early for graduating seniors. They will send you two emails. In one they will send a password-protected spreadsheet with the grades. In the second, they will send the password for that spreadsheet. That's the only way we can send by email and comply with FURPA. See the DLA Spa for the teacher contact lists. (Click on the "Contacts" button in the Spa.)
For all German Courses (Oklahoma State University):
Contact Sabine Lewis at sabine.lewis@okstate.edu (800) 423-6493
For the following AP courses (Florida Virtual School): AP English LangAP English LitAP Micro Econ AP U.S. HistoryContact Maria E Chan mchan@flvs.net (407) 513-3363
Healthful Living Permission Forms
Be sure to send your permission forms to Robert Belton.
Prerequisites for NCVPS Courses
Be sure to check the prerequisites list in the DLA Spa
Please fill out our annual NCVPS survey. Log in to the DLA Spa to access the survey or contact your virtual learning consultant.
Final Grades for Early Calendar Courses Posted
Check the dropbox file in the registration system! 5 - 21 - 09
Registration Video
Early Grades for Graduating Seniors
Below is the process for collecting grades for graduating seniors. NCVPS can only accommodate this request for graduating seniors. For NCVPS Courses:Ask teachers directly for senior grades. They have been instructed to have grades prepared early for graduating seniors. They will send you two emails. In one they will send a password-protected spreadsheet with the grades. In the second, they will send the password for that spreadsheet. That's the only way we can send by email and comply with FURPA. See the DLA Spa for the teacher contact lists. (Click on the "Contacts" button in the Spa.)
For all German Courses (Oklahoma State University):
Contact Sabine Lewis at sabine.lewis@okstate.edu (800) 423-6493
For the following AP courses (Florida Virtual School): AP English LangAP English LitAP Micro Econ AP U.S. HistoryContact Maria E Chan mchan@flvs.net (407) 513-3363
Healthful Living Permission Forms
Be sure to send your permission forms to Robert Belton.
Prerequisites for NCVPS Courses
Be sure to check the prerequisites list in the DLA Spa
DLA Training Spring 2009
This is the Powerpoint used in the Spring 09 DLA training.
DLA Training Spring 2009
View more OpenOffice presentations from adamrenfro.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
NC WISE - TEACHER & COURSE INFORMATION
COLLECTION OF DATA BY NCVPS
NCVPS reports the following teacher data for SAR (Student Accounting Report):
Class/course Name
Section Number
Teacher name associated with the section
Teacher name
Teacher gender
Teacher ethnicity
Teacher social security number
Teacher experience status
Data managers will use this information in NCWISE.
DELIVERY TO DLA’S AND DATA MANAGERS
1. NCVPS posts SAR data in the DLA Spa under the tab NCWISE Teacher Info. Data is posted in a password-protected spreadsheet.
2. Virtual Learning Consultants email DLAs the passwords.
3. DLAs access the spreadsheet in the DLA Spa and share with their data managers. It is essential that the spreadsheet is NOT emailed to data managers. This is a violation of the FERPA privacy law.
NCVPS reports the following teacher data for SAR (Student Accounting Report):
Class/course Name
Section Number
Teacher name associated with the section
Teacher name
Teacher gender
Teacher ethnicity
Teacher social security number
Teacher experience status
Data managers will use this information in NCWISE.
DELIVERY TO DLA’S AND DATA MANAGERS
1. NCVPS posts SAR data in the DLA Spa under the tab NCWISE Teacher Info. Data is posted in a password-protected spreadsheet.
2. Virtual Learning Consultants email DLAs the passwords.
3. DLAs access the spreadsheet in the DLA Spa and share with their data managers. It is essential that the spreadsheet is NOT emailed to data managers. This is a violation of the FERPA privacy law.
The NCVPS Virtual Learning Consultants
NCVPS is configured into four regions. All LEAs and charter schools should locate their county to determine their assigned School Support Services Virtual Learning Consultant.
Region 1: James Bell, JTBell@dpi.state.nc.us, 252-340-3216
Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Cape Lookout Marine Science High, Carteret, Chowan, Craven, Currituck, Dare, Edgecombe, Gates, Greene, Halifax, Haliwa-Saponi Tribal, Hertford, Hyde, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, Northhampton, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Pitt, Roanoke Rapids City, Tyrrell, Vance, Vance Charter, Warren, Washington, Weldon City
Region 2: Connie Joyner, CJoyner@dpi.state.nc.us, 919.218.7582
Alamance, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Carter G. Woodsen School of Challenge, Caswell, Chapel Hill/Carrboro City, Clover Garden, Crossnore Academy, Duplin, Durham, East Wake Academy, Elkin City, Franklin, Franklin Academy, Grandfather Academy, Granville, Healthy Start Academy, Johnston, Kestrel Heights, Mitchell, Mt. Airy, Nash, Orange, PACE Academy, Pender, Person, Raleigh Charter High, River Mill Academy, Rockingham, Rocky Mount Preparatory, Roxboro Community Middle School, South Wake Academy, Stokes, Surry, The Hawbridge School, Two Rivers Community School, Wake, Watauga, Wayne, Wilkes, Wilson, Yadkin
Region 3: Adam Renfro, ARenfro@dpi.state.nc.us, 919.218.8465
Alexander, Asheboro, Bladen, Brunswick, Caldwell, Cape Fear Center Inquiry, Chatham, Clinton City, Columbus, Cumberland, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, Harnett, Hoke, Iredell/Statesville, Lee, Lexington City, Moore, Mooresville City, New Hanover, Pine Lake Prep, Provisions Academy, Quality Education Academy, Randolph, Robeson, Rowan, Sampson, Scotland, Thomasville City, Whiteville City, Woods Charter
Region 4: Melissa Davis, MDavis@dpi.state.nc.us, 704-690-0375
Anson, Asheville City, Buncombe, Burke, Cabarrus, Carolina International School, Catawba, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Graham, Gray Stone Day, Haywood, Henderson, Hickory City, Jackson, Kannapolis, KIPP Gaston College Prep, Lake Norman Charter, Lincoln, Lincoln Charter, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Metrolina Regional Scholars’ Academy, Montgomery, Newton-Conover City, Piedmont Community Charter, Polk, Queen’s Grant Preparatory High School, Richmond, Rutherford, Stanley, Swain, Thomas Jefferson Class Academy, Transylvania, Union, Union Academy, Yancy
DLAs should contact their regional consultants regarding student support issues.
Region 1: James Bell, JTBell@dpi.state.nc.us, 252-340-3216
Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Cape Lookout Marine Science High, Carteret, Chowan, Craven, Currituck, Dare, Edgecombe, Gates, Greene, Halifax, Haliwa-Saponi Tribal, Hertford, Hyde, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, Northhampton, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Pitt, Roanoke Rapids City, Tyrrell, Vance, Vance Charter, Warren, Washington, Weldon City
Region 2: Connie Joyner, CJoyner@dpi.state.nc.us, 919.218.7582
Alamance, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Carter G. Woodsen School of Challenge, Caswell, Chapel Hill/Carrboro City, Clover Garden, Crossnore Academy, Duplin, Durham, East Wake Academy, Elkin City, Franklin, Franklin Academy, Grandfather Academy, Granville, Healthy Start Academy, Johnston, Kestrel Heights, Mitchell, Mt. Airy, Nash, Orange, PACE Academy, Pender, Person, Raleigh Charter High, River Mill Academy, Rockingham, Rocky Mount Preparatory, Roxboro Community Middle School, South Wake Academy, Stokes, Surry, The Hawbridge School, Two Rivers Community School, Wake, Watauga, Wayne, Wilkes, Wilson, Yadkin
Region 3: Adam Renfro, ARenfro@dpi.state.nc.us, 919.218.8465
Alexander, Asheboro, Bladen, Brunswick, Caldwell, Cape Fear Center Inquiry, Chatham, Clinton City, Columbus, Cumberland, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, Harnett, Hoke, Iredell/Statesville, Lee, Lexington City, Moore, Mooresville City, New Hanover, Pine Lake Prep, Provisions Academy, Quality Education Academy, Randolph, Robeson, Rowan, Sampson, Scotland, Thomasville City, Whiteville City, Woods Charter
Region 4: Melissa Davis, MDavis@dpi.state.nc.us, 704-690-0375
Anson, Asheville City, Buncombe, Burke, Cabarrus, Carolina International School, Catawba, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Graham, Gray Stone Day, Haywood, Henderson, Hickory City, Jackson, Kannapolis, KIPP Gaston College Prep, Lake Norman Charter, Lincoln, Lincoln Charter, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Metrolina Regional Scholars’ Academy, Montgomery, Newton-Conover City, Piedmont Community Charter, Polk, Queen’s Grant Preparatory High School, Richmond, Rutherford, Stanley, Swain, Thomas Jefferson Class Academy, Transylvania, Union, Union Academy, Yancy
DLAs should contact their regional consultants regarding student support issues.
Transfer Students
NCVPS welcomes transfers. Each request for a transfer will be considered on an individual basis.
Process for transferring into NCVPS
1. Principal of student’s school of record (or his/her designee) must request the transfer of student via email to the virtual learning consultant in your region.
2. Your regional consultant will discuss each transfer student’s request with the principal (or his/her designee) to ensure all parties understand the conditions for transfer and the requirements for the course.
3. Individual conditions can be set for each transfer student and violation of these conditions will result in the dismissal of the transfer student from NCVPS.
4. No transfers will be allowed in the last quarter (4 and one half weeks) of a block semester or the last grading period of a year-long course.
5. NCVPS will decide the number of courses in which a transfer student can enroll.
6. The decision of NCVPS to allow or not to allow a student to transfer into its program is final.
7. Due to time constraints, NCVPS does not accept transfer students during summer school.
Conditions for Transfer
Conditions that will be considered in granting or denying a student to transfer into NCVPS:
1. NCVPS must have an available seat in the course.
2. The perspective transfer student can only transfer into a NCVPS online course(s) for which s/he is currently enrolled at the home school.
3. The perspective transfer student must be passing the course(s) at the home school to be transferred with a minimum average of 70.
4. The perspective transfer student’s attendance at his/her school of record will be a factor in determining if the perspective transfer student’s request will be accepted.
5. The perspective transfer student must have an operational computer with Internet access with appropriate software capability at the appropriate site (home, hospital, treatment center, etc.).
6. School must ensure the transferring student has the necessary textbooks and materials for the online courses
7. The perspective transfer student’s instructor(s) will make an assessment of the transfer student’s knowledge base within the subject matter and will determine the appropriate starting point for the transfer student within the course(s).
Process for transferring into NCVPS
1. Principal of student’s school of record (or his/her designee) must request the transfer of student via email to the virtual learning consultant in your region.
2. Your regional consultant will discuss each transfer student’s request with the principal (or his/her designee) to ensure all parties understand the conditions for transfer and the requirements for the course.
3. Individual conditions can be set for each transfer student and violation of these conditions will result in the dismissal of the transfer student from NCVPS.
4. No transfers will be allowed in the last quarter (4 and one half weeks) of a block semester or the last grading period of a year-long course.
5. NCVPS will decide the number of courses in which a transfer student can enroll.
6. The decision of NCVPS to allow or not to allow a student to transfer into its program is final.
7. Due to time constraints, NCVPS does not accept transfer students during summer school.
Conditions for Transfer
Conditions that will be considered in granting or denying a student to transfer into NCVPS:
1. NCVPS must have an available seat in the course.
2. The perspective transfer student can only transfer into a NCVPS online course(s) for which s/he is currently enrolled at the home school.
3. The perspective transfer student must be passing the course(s) at the home school to be transferred with a minimum average of 70.
4. The perspective transfer student’s attendance at his/her school of record will be a factor in determining if the perspective transfer student’s request will be accepted.
5. The perspective transfer student must have an operational computer with Internet access with appropriate software capability at the appropriate site (home, hospital, treatment center, etc.).
6. School must ensure the transferring student has the necessary textbooks and materials for the online courses
7. The perspective transfer student’s instructor(s) will make an assessment of the transfer student’s knowledge base within the subject matter and will determine the appropriate starting point for the transfer student within the course(s).
NCVPS Grading
Standard Grading Scale
Midterm: 37.5%
End Term: 37.5%
Final Exam: 25%
Grade Reports in Dropbox File
Grades will be reported every two weeks in the “dropbox files” in the registration system. Only the midterm, end term, and final exam will be weighted. All other grades will be progress reports and will be labeled as such.
Because our reporting dates seldom match up with local school reporting dates, most school will only record NCVPS grades in NCWISE or SIMS at the end of the course. This is a local decision.
EOC and CTE Courses
Schools will have to administer EOC and CTE tests. For those courses, the grades that NCVPS reports to the school will be 75% of the final grade. Schools will have to score the EOCs and CTEs and average in the remaining 25% to determine the final grade.
Gradebook Online in Blackboard (Bb)
During the semester, grades will be posted to the online grade book so that students can check their current classroom standing. If students do not see their grades posted to the gradebook, the instructor should be notified.
NOTE: Students and parents should be aware that student grades will be officially reported by the instructor to the school DLA on a nine 9-week schedule, depending on the district’s reporting requirements.
Instructors have the option of giving a comprehensive, cumulative exam at the end of each semester. For districts that require final exams, the second semester exam may serve as the course final. All students are also required to take the state-mandated, discipline-specific end-of-course exams. In addition, the local school may require students in AP courses to take the AP exam. Students should communicate with the school DLA or school counselor about AP exam expectations.
Grades: Percentage Correlations
NCVPS grades are given as percentages. The percent can be correlated to a grade. For the State Board of Education policy on grades, which also provides templates to correlate percentages, please run a “search” on Policy ID Number: “HSP-L-004” while on the NCSBE Web site, http://sbepolicy.dpi.state.nc.us/
Midterm: 37.5%
End Term: 37.5%
Final Exam: 25%
Grade Reports in Dropbox File
Grades will be reported every two weeks in the “dropbox files” in the registration system. Only the midterm, end term, and final exam will be weighted. All other grades will be progress reports and will be labeled as such.
Because our reporting dates seldom match up with local school reporting dates, most school will only record NCVPS grades in NCWISE or SIMS at the end of the course. This is a local decision.
EOC and CTE Courses
Schools will have to administer EOC and CTE tests. For those courses, the grades that NCVPS reports to the school will be 75% of the final grade. Schools will have to score the EOCs and CTEs and average in the remaining 25% to determine the final grade.
Gradebook Online in Blackboard (Bb)
During the semester, grades will be posted to the online grade book so that students can check their current classroom standing. If students do not see their grades posted to the gradebook, the instructor should be notified.
NOTE: Students and parents should be aware that student grades will be officially reported by the instructor to the school DLA on a nine 9-week schedule, depending on the district’s reporting requirements.
Instructors have the option of giving a comprehensive, cumulative exam at the end of each semester. For districts that require final exams, the second semester exam may serve as the course final. All students are also required to take the state-mandated, discipline-specific end-of-course exams. In addition, the local school may require students in AP courses to take the AP exam. Students should communicate with the school DLA or school counselor about AP exam expectations.
Grades: Percentage Correlations
NCVPS grades are given as percentages. The percent can be correlated to a grade. For the State Board of Education policy on grades, which also provides templates to correlate percentages, please run a “search” on Policy ID Number: “HSP-L-004” while on the NCSBE Web site, http://sbepolicy.dpi.state.nc.us/
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